Long Day's Journey into Night Act 4 Summary
In this article, Long Day's Journey into Night (a play written by O'Neill) Act 4 summary is described, and the main points of this summary are:
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- An argument starts between James Tyrone and Edmund Tyrone. They criticize each other. The scene creates when Mr Tyrone miserly warns his younger son to put out the lights when Edmund enters in front of him at night. Edmund calls him a cheap person due to his saying. Later, Mr Tyrone blames him for preferring Dowson and Baudelaire to Shakespeare and showing the lack of literary taste and understanding. Then, Edmund accuses him of destroying the Tyrone family. He criticizes his father for hiring an incompetent person who gave overdoses of morphine to Mary for lessening her labour pains during his birth. Also, he says that this incident made Mary a permanent addict. James Tyrone denies this accusation forcefully. He says that he did not know anything about that possible outcome.
- Further, he says that the Hilltown Sanatorium which is state-supported and very cheap is the best place for him to get cured. When Edmund charges him for miserliness, then his father reacts very sharply. James states that he understands the value of money for having seen financially unstable days in his life. He briefly tells Edmund about his story. Edmund gets impressed by his father's arguments, and he feels guilty for humiliating him. Then, Edmund praises him due to his sacrifices of comforts for the family. He says that he can better understand him now.
- Then, Jamie and Edmund converse with one another. Jamie starts confessing some facts in front of him. He says that he never liked his younger brother and always remained jealous of him. Further, he reveals that he is the sub-conscious reason behind Edmund's consumption. Also, he asserts that he is responsible for making Edmund hopeless towards life by eliminating his necessary illusions. In the end, Jamie suggests that Edmund should be careful in his presence and should not follow him foolishly.
- Act number four reveals that Mary is only happy about her past time. She dislikes her present moment. She imagines the period before her marriage. She has worn a sky-blue dressing gown over her night-dress. Also, she has carried her wedding gown on her arm. Then, she finds herself in front of her convent sister, Therese. Mary also imagines herself talking to her. All her family members listen to her frightening experience in astonishment. However, they are non-existent for Mary. She becomes so much absorbed in her imagination that she seems quite forgetful of the immediate present time. At this stage, one can see her fully connected to her past. The story ends with Mary's dialogue which is that she fell in love with James Tyrone and was very happy for some time.
In this way, the tragical history of Tyrone family is revealed effectively during one day in their summer home in the play, Long Day's Journey into Night.
Conclusion:
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